


the moon to the tide

by twoheadlights (fizzfic)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Anniversary, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 10:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8323738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzfic/pseuds/twoheadlights
Summary: it's their seventh anniversary and dan has plans. title from under your spell :)





	

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is both for the seventh anniversary AND ALSO for one of my bestest friends [nikki](http://pinofs.tumblr.com/) whom i love dearly and u should go and tell u love him! do it!!!!!!!!!

Dan and Phil have been together for a total of seven years.

Kinda. Technically, they had that rough patch where they didn’t know if they were together or not and everything was confusing but just to avoid that same confusion, they’ve agreed that seven years is a good estimate. They hadn’t known what the exact date they met was until Dan found the train ticket from the day he went to Manchester to meet Phil. Over the years, he’s forgotten details but fortunately for him, their past selves chronicled bits of their “date” (Phil calls it that, but Dan thinks it was just a little hang out thing and that the time they went to see _Avatar_ was their first date) online. Also fortunately for them, Phil had recalled (a little exaggerated version of) the day and put it into a nice little video for Dan way back when.

“I don’t think I would’ve kissed you.” Dan says, staring at the ceiling. They’re in the lounge, where most of these discussions happen. Dan will feel uncomfortable when the only sounds he can hear are his own thoughts in his head and Phil’s light breaths from across the sofa. Phil looks at him, confused.

“What do you mean?”

Dan sits up. “That day. On the Manchester Wheel. I would’ve never been brave enough to kiss you.” He explains. “I was all, ‘oh my God, AmazingPhil, _senpai_ ’.” He places his knuckle on his forehead and pretends to faint.

“Don’t say senpai.” Phil responds, hitting Dan's ankle.

“Sorry.”

Phil smiles. “It’s coming up.” He says softly. “The nineteenth. Two days?”

Oh yeah. They’ve never really celebrated it. One year, they helped host an awards show and Dan hugged Nick Jonas and slightly flirted with him too; last year, they had an exhausting day off from the tour and did a liveshow, where people told them it was their ‘friendiversary’ as if they _didn’t know_. Never had they spent the day doing anything for it. They didn’t even know until 2011 and that was...yeah. Now they’re free, no commitments, no tour, no audience to cater to on that specific day. They could have an anniversary. Right?

-

That night, when Phil is peacefully asleep next to him, Dan sits bolt upright in bed. He was very close to being asleep, with thoughts of Phil and the anniversary on his mind and darkness was edging closer and closer, blurring his vision but then it hit him.

They still hadn't figured out what to do for their anniversary but Dan's brain just cooked up something that didn't seem crazy and could actually be plausible.

“Phil.” Dan says, shaking Phil's arm aggressively. “ _Phil._ Pancakes! Coffee! I put my new Yeezys on the table!”

Phil only grunts and turns his back to Dan, who rolls his eyes. He grabs Phil's other arm and pulls him back to face him. He cradles Phil's cheek and leans in. “Phil,” he murmurs against his cheek. He leaves a little kiss on the corner of his mouth. “ _Hey_.” Pecks him on the lips once. Phil moans and tries to move Dan’s face with a hand.

“Mmmph.”

Dan rolls his eyes and shakes him harder. “Listen. Wake up.”

“Ugh.” Phil groans and opens one eye. “Whattimesit?”

“Time to get up and listen to my really good plan for our anniversary.” Dan replies.

Phil props himself up on his elbows and yawns, head leaning back. He looks at Dan, one eyebrow raised like he can’t believe his sleep had been disturbed for this. “Okay. Go on.”

“We should go to Manchester.”

“But my parents are out of town…” Phil starts to say, but Dan looks at him earnestly, like he expects Phil to _get it_ just like that (seven years; should work, right?). “You want to...have anniversary sex at my parents’ house?”

Dan groans and shakes his head. “Why don't we just, I dunno, go there? I miss Manchester. We can go to Arndale, see the Wheel again, maybe stop at the Apple store, get some coffee…”

Phil rolls his eyes. “So you want to redo our first meeting basically.”

Dan nods earnestly. “Please, please, please -”

-

“You really want me to _go_ to Manchester without you?” Phil asks again, and he doesn't look concerned which makes Dan happy. “Just, catch a train and wait for you?”

Dan nods. “Your parents aren't in town either, this is _perfect_ .” It actually felt like this crazy plan might work. He could feel something like that excitement from years ago when he'd booked tickets to Manchester for the first time. He remembered taking a screenshot and tweeting it to Phil and counting down the days. Texting each other things like, _good morning 10 days to go :]_ first thing and then again, before saying goodnight.

Dan watches now as Phil gets his laptop out and comes back to bed. He puts his glasses on and gets to work. After a few minutes of silence as he scrolled through the train times, Phil points at something. “You're lucky.” He says. “I can leave for Manchester tomorrow afternoon.”

“ _Yes_.” Dan says, punching the air in celebration. “Book it.”

“You've never been so happy about me leaving the house without you.” Phil pouts, closing his laptop lid and putting it aside. “It's really funny. And a little insulting. I liked you better when you were clingy.”

Dan laughs and wraps his arms around Phil to hug him for two seconds before letting go. He kisses Phil’s temple and then lies down.

_Two days to go._

-

Dan’s train is on time. So far, so good. He gets on it, tugs his slightly too small t-shirt down to stop flashing the nice old ladies. He has a cotton shirt over it, very similar to one he owned seven years ago, and his hair is newly cut. It's like he's eighteen but just a little taller, maybe. As he sits and settles into his seat, ready for his three hour journey, a million questions run through his head.

_What’s Phil going to wear? Will he be on time? / wonder if he’s let his hair grow. Wait, no hair doesn’t grow that quick in two days. I miss him. What the fuck, how did we do this long distance shit for so long, never again. Bad idea. Once was enough. Well, twice, apparently. Nice going, past me. Fucker._

His phone rings about two hours into his journey - it’s Phil. He picks up on the third ring. “ _Phil_.” He rolls his eyes. “You’re not supposed to call me.”

“ _T_ _his is the weirdest roleplay we’ve ever done_ ,” comes his reply. “ _Ourselves._ ” Dan doesn’t reply and patiently waits for Phil to get to the point. “ _So anyway. I’m here. For the next hour._ ”

“You’re supposed to be a little late.” Dan protests. He clearly remembers Phil texting him and saying he was almost at the station just when Dan was close to Manchester and then not finding him for at least five minutes because he was in the washroom.

“ _Danny, come on._ ”

“It needs to be _authentic_.” Dan pouts.

“ _Do you want me to go back home and come again_?” Phil asks.

“No, that’s ridiculous, of course not. But make sure you’re in the washroom when I get there.” He bites his lip to stop from laughing at Phil huffing and saying goodbye reluctantly.

A weird feeling in the pit of his stomach tickles him. He tries to remember how he felt, alone at eighteen, travelling to the north to meet someone he’d only spoken to online, how all the safety guidelines came to mind but he dismissed them because this was _Phil_ and he was the safest person Dan had at the time. Well, at least that hasn’t changed.

He checks his watch and looks out the window. He’s going to be on time, not a few minutes early like that day but it’s fine. This one’s out of their control.

He’s going to see Phil. Finally.

It’s weird because it’s a different kind of excitement this time, obviously. Every time Dan and Phil spent time apart _after_ moving in together was painful but they got used to it as the years went on. But seeing each other after the separation, that _feeling_ never changed - just evolved into something better and healthier. Because they could always come back to each other now. No parents, no distance, no being broke, no...just no obstacles. Phil’s there, wherever there is, and Dan can be there too. Eighteen year old him would be happy about that, he reckons.

“ _The next station is Manchester Piccadilly._ ”

“Oh my god,” Dan murmurs. He swallows and rubs his hands on his seat.

A woman is sat opposite him. She catches his eye and they smile at each other. “You look excited.” She says. “Are you meeting with someone special?”

Dan grins and nods. “My best friend.”

-

When he gets off the train, Dan instinctively turns his head right and left to look for Phil’s mop of black hair. When he doesn’t spot him, he allows himself a little smile before opening up his messages.

_hey i’m here!! i dont see you :(_

The reply is almost instantaneous. _Sorry!! Just come to the ticket office place i’m here :]_

Dan walks towards the office, which he hadn’t actually been to that many times since the first, but he still remembers the way. A lot of people push past him impatiently and it’s funny, _really_ funny how much he can suddenly remember from this same day seven years ago.

Phil isn’t at the office. He isn’t anywhere _near_ the office. Dan feels a moment of panic before remembering, _oh yeah_. He calls Phil’s number, tapping his foot and nibbling on the skin of his finger.

“ _Hey, what’s up_?”

“I’m at the ticket office, but you’re not. Everything okay?” He asks, trying to make his tone concerned.

“ _Shit, yeah, uh, I’m in the toilet but I’m coming out. Don’t worry!_ ”

“Shit? Phil, really?”

“ _I was a lot cruder back then. It’s good characterisation on my part, I think_.” And then he hangs up.

The thing is, Dan doesn’t _expect_ anything dramatic to happen. The first time, he had, because it was, well, his first time. But now he just hears a faint, “Dan! Over here!” from behind him and he turns around to see Phil - _his_ Phil, the one who’s shorter than him, who’s gotten somehow paler over the years, who knows exactly how many freckles are on his arm after years of losing count, he’s _there_ and he’s wearing a green-blue shirt because of course he would do this for Dan. As he gets closer and closer, Dan naturally just gravitates towards him and they stop for a beat in front of each other before Phil wraps his arms around Dan, engulfing him in the warmest of hugs.

“You-”

“I’m here-”

“ _God_.”

Yeah, exactly.

They let go and smile at each other. To be fully honest, Dan wasn’t expecting the hug. It’s been awhile since they’ve publicly embraced like that. They pull away too quickly because they don’t do this anymore, reunion hugs are strictly for the apartment no matter how sad that unwritten rule might be but Dan’s okay with this. This is good.

“I’m a hugger.” Phil says, smiling apologetically.

Dan shrugs. “You’re good at what you do.”

-

As they walk around the city, Dan bumps his shoulders with Phil’s, if only because he can’t help but touch him. Like just those two days felt like the months in 2009 that they weren’t with each other and he needs to remind himself of the feel of Phil’s skin and his little reactions to touch.

They reach Arndale and immediately go to Starbucks.

“Two caramel macchiatos, please.” Phil says. “Uh, for Dan and Phil.”

The barista gives them both a small smile and nods before getting to work on their coffees.

Dan looks for their sofa. It’s the one right in the corner, away from the people milling about. And it’s empty. Dan makes his way as quickly as possible to catch it before anyone else could. He’s on his phone, scrolling through his Twitter mentions. Lots of them mention their anniversary and he snickers to himself. They’re wondering why neither of them has said anything.

“Hey, got your coffee.” Dan looks up and sees Phil holding their mugs. He takes his own and blows on the top.

“Nice.” He comments.

“I see you’re already using the free WiFi.” Phil says, shaking his head at Dan.

“Of course. The only reason we came here, even on that day, is because Starbucks is cool and has free internet. A good place for a first date, I think.”

“Is this a date, Dan?” Phil’s tone makes Dan look up again and he blushes because Phil has his head tilted to one side, like he actually didn’t know this was a date. Which, okay, maybe it was sincere since none of their outings were ever considered ‘dates’ anymore. So yeah. Maybe this is a date. And he’s being rude by being on his phone. He pockets it and sips his coffee.

“Yeah, if you want it to be.” Dan says.

Phil raises an eyebrow. “I do.”

-

Dan hums a tune as they walk to the Wheel.

“Gold Saucer.” Phil says bemusedly. “Appropriate.”

“I didn’t even realise.” Dan replies. “Hey, why didn’t we name the gaming channel GoldSaucer again?”

“Lack of creativity, copyright…”

“Ah. So the two fundamental aspects that make up AmazingPhil.”

“Exactly.”

The Manchester Wheel holds a very special place in Dan’s heart, obviously. Even when they lived in Manchester, he would look at it when they passed it and smile.

-

Dan _hadn’t_ kissed Phil on the Wheel. That was just Phil being overdramatic. He watches Phil now, looking at the city lights, still enamoured by the sight of their first ever home together. He nudges Phil lightly.

“Yeah?” Phil asks, looking at him now, a little dazed.

“Beautiful.” Dan replies. “Just. You.”

Phil rolls his eyes and Dan thinks, _I could do it. I want to do it. I’m just, I’m gonna do it_. He leans in closer and breathes, “hi,” in Phil’s ear, who shivers. “Can I…?”

“Yes, oh my God, Dan.” Phil says, and grabs him by the shoulders to pull him closer.

They don’t kiss for long - just like the hug at the station, the feeling of being watched stopped them. Plus, they’d never been much for anything but subtle, casual touches - they were completely out of their league here.

“Well.” Phil says as their capsule touches the ground. “At least now I haven’t embellished any part of my story.”

And yeah, Dan thinks, he hasn’t.

-

Their choice of cocktails are much better, Dan thinks. Phil still went for the coconut-y one, just more sweet, and he asked for a shot of espresso in his instead of just going, ‘um, whatever’s nice, I guess’ and having the bartender judge him for more than his clothes.

They still look out of place, with their matching plaid shirts and skinny jeans and weird hair. Dan looks out at the sunset, and it feels like déjà vu. He vaguely remembers, _the sun is beginning to set_ from somewhere. He must’ve said it about some sunset. What a generic line. He should think of something more poetic to say. So he turns to Phil, his hand holding the glass delicately in his hand and he opens his mouth to comment, saying something like, “the sun is reflecting off you” and then laugh, but the words get caught in his throat and he ends up gazing at Phil, unable to speak. He involuntarily leans forward, like the tide to the moon, like he always does.

“Hey.” He says softly, raising his glass.

Phil looks at him now. “Hi.” he responds.

“It was really nice to meet you.”

They look at each other for a few seconds and Phil is so much older than he was seven years ago, in this exact seat. _Exactly_ there. He had never fallen in love, he didn’t have his own place, he only knew that he wanted Dan and that Dan wanted him back and that was it. It was crazy to think they’d make this this far, that they almost _didn’t_ and now it’s impossible to separate their names from each other. Dan. Phil. Dan and Phil. That’s how it is. That’s how it should be always.

“Nice to meet you too.” Phil replies, grinning. “You should come up more often. We could do some crazy stuff together, like go to London and gatherings and then we can move in together like best friends do. Won’t that be fun?”

**Author's Note:**

> [read and reblog on tumblr!](http://phanwich.tumblr.com/post/152030406590/the-moon-to-the-tide)


End file.
